Bimetallic Aluminum‐ and Niobium‐Doped MCM‐41 for Efficient Conversion of Biomass‐Derived 2‐Methyltetrahydrofuran to Pentadienes

The production of conjugated C4–C5 dienes from biomass can enable the sustainable synthesis many important polymers and liquid fuels. Here, we report first example bimetallic (Nb, Al)-atomically doped mesoporous silica, denoted as AlNb-MCM-41, which affords quantitative conversion 2-methyltetrahydrofuran (2-MTHF) to pentadienes with a high selectivity 91 %. incorporation AlIII NbV sites into framework AlNb-MCM-41 has effectively tuned nature distribution Lewis Brønsted acid within structure. Operando X-ray absorption, diffuse reflectance infrared solid-state NMR spectroscopy collectively reveal molecular mechanism adsorbed 2-MTHF over AlNb-MCM-41. Specifically, atomically-dispersed play an role in binding drive conversion. Overall, this study highlights potential hetero-atomic solids for manufacture renewable materials.